Retail finance is not the easy sell it once was, with consumers holding off on their spending and opting instead to pay down household and personal debt. Plus, with Rugby World Cup kicking off in mid-2011, the eyes of the nation were focussed solely on our national sport and shopping was the last thing on anyone’s mind. By November, RWC had taken a major toll on retail spending, but together with every other retail and finance brand in NZ, Q Card had to get out there and claw back cardholder spend.

To drive Q Card holders out of their post-RWC inertia and fast-track them into a Christmas mindset, they were given a real incentive to pull out their card and use it. Every time they swiped their Q Card they got another chance to win some hugely appealing prizes with the same theme: Apple products – one a day for the duration of the campaign - and the big prize of a trip to the Big Apple itself, New York!

The challenge was to stay true to promoting the use of Q Card over other cards rather than becoming a promotion for Apple. With a visually innovative and compelling icon of the Manhattan skyline created using only Apple products, the creative concept worked across all media. The buildings were even lit by turning on the screens for a classic night shot.

The strong promotional mechanic and carefully planned test and control structure proved that behaviour could be changed to get people to choose their Q Card over other payment methods. Sales targets were ‘kicked out of the park’ and genuine incremental sales of $1,379,413 were generated off the back of the campaign.

The promotion directly linked the incentive to the desired behaviour. This campaign has proven beyond doubt the power of smart and savvy direct marketing, also demonstrating to retail partners that good offers will capture the interest of customers and drive them in-store to buy!